Web tension mechanism for wrapping machines



H. A. SEVIGNE ET AL WEB TENSION MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES' Original Filed Deo. 4, 1917 ATTORNEY atented Feb. 1.2, 1924.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRI A. SEVINGE, OF WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS, AND FRANK K. ARNOLD, OF

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNORS 10 NATIONAL BREAD WRAPPING MA- CHINE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS..

WEB TENSION MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES.

originai application ined December 4, 1917, serial No. 205,385. Divided and this application fiicd 'November 17,1921. serial No. 515,764.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRI A. SEVIGNE and FRANK K. ARNOLD, citizensof the United States, and residents, respectively, of Winthrop, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, and of Nashua, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Web Tension Mechanism for Wrapping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wrapping machines and has particular reference to machilies which wrap bread in sections of paper cut from a web. The present application is a division or continuation of our application which became Letters Patent No. 1,253,636, granted January 15, 1918, and of our continuing application which became Letters Patent No. 1,412,754, grantedAprrl 11, 1922, in which applications division was required.

The object of the invention claimed herein is to provide means whereby the wrapping material will be delivered uniformly regardless of the gradual reduction of size of the supply roll of paper. 0

With this object in view, our invention consists in the employment of a plurality of gravity rolls, one above another, in position to bear in or on a single loop of paper being drawnvfrom a roll and fed to cutting and wrapping mechanism. said rolls,. or any equivalent thereof such as rods Vbeing especially effective when the feed of the paper is intermittent.

The accompanying drawing represents a longitudinal section through a wrapping machine of the character shown in the above mentioned atents.

The artic es to be wrapped, such as loaves of bread, are singly and successively introduced into the lowei` portion of a vertical `chute or passageway one wall of which is indicated at LMaand each article is carried up through said chute by lifting fingers 52 which are secured to rods 53 carried by chains 55 running over sprockets 56, 57, mounted on shafts 58, 59.

A shaft 66 having a gear 67 meshing with a pinion 68 carried by shaft 69 having a beltdriving pulley 70 is driven continuously when the machine is in operation. A diuiii 83 is carried by the shaft 66 and the paper which is to be cut into wrapper sections is intermittently pushed over the bed 88 to positions over the rising loaves in the chute` a by the cooperation with said drum of a roll or series of rolls 87 carried by a shaft 89.

By any suitable mechanism such as illustrated and described in the above mentioned patents, theshaft 89 is raised and lowered yielding wall 118 and said section is further folded at 169. At the top of the chute a' flap of the partly folded wrapper section is acted upon by a tucker 179 carried by arms 181 of a rock' .shaft 182, and then the wrapped loaf is pushed over the horizontal sealing table 219 by pushers 214 carried by chains 209.

The structure and operation of the parts so far referred to are fully illustrated and explained in the before mentioned patents and need not be further explained herein especially in view of the fact that so far as concerns the invention claimed herein such structure and operation may be of different character.

We will now describe the means for Securing uniform delivery of the web of paper to the machine The paper is fed from a roll on a suitably mounted core 82, a single loop of said paper passing under twoor three gravity rolls or rods 84, 85, on its way to the feed drum 83, said rolls or rods serving to automatically reduce the pulling tension on the core 82 as the diameter of the roll of paper decreases. As has been explained, the operation of the feeding mechanism 83. 87, is intermittent. The gravity rolls or rods are guided at their ends in inclined ways 86, and are removable so that others of dierent weight may be substituted therefor.

The object of the plurality of gravity rods or rolls 84, 85, operating in one loop of paper is to compensate for the radually lessened size andinertia of the rollgof paper. When a large roll of papel` is in place, it requires more weight in the loop of paper between the supply roll and the feed drum, to draw off the paper from the supply roll, than when said supply roll is small. lVhen the feeding mechanism acts and takes up some of the loop of aper, if the rod 85 is of insufficient weig t to exertan unwinding pull upon the web, the loop continues to be taken up until the next rod 84 is also lifted from its normal lower 'position so that more than one rod is operating inthe one loop. Suitable stops, such as the closed lower ends of the ways 86, serve to normally limit the lower positions of the rods 84 to a higher plane than the Alowermost position of the rod 85. When the roll of paper has been considerably reduced in diameter its inertia becomes lessl and the combined wei ht of two gravity rods or rolls might then e too great to prevent the feedingv action from causing a jerk upon the supply roll. The lower rod 85 alone, however, has not sufiicient weight to prevent being lifted up the inclines at the beginning of the feed action, and therefore the pull upon the supply roll is an easy and comparatively steady one. Whenever the weight of the lower rod 85 is insuflicient to cause the supply roll of paper to commence to unwind, the shortening of the loop due to the action of the feed mechanism continues until the next higher rod 84 is also lifted by the loop, the combined Weight of the two (or even three) rods ensuring an Aunwinding of the roll of paper until the gravity rods return to their lower normal positions.

The' mechanism just described, by automatically reducin the tension on the aper as the diameter o the supply roll is redliiced, facilitates continues proper operation of the machine as a whole because it ensures delivery of smooth and untorn sections of paper to be assembled with the loaves of bread.l

Having now described our invention, we claim 1. In mechanism' for drawing a web of paper from a roll, means for compensating for the gradually reducing ysize and inertia of said rollsaid mea-ns comprising a pluralty of elongated weights, one above another, in position to bear 1n a single loop of the web and mounted to be progressively lifted by said loop.

2. In mechanism for drawing a web of paper from a roll, a plurality of wei hts mounted to act progressively when lifte by a op of the paper as it is drawn from the ro w 8. In mechanism for vdrawin a web of paper from a roll, a plurality o idler gravit?7 rods for guiding the paper in the form o -a loop as 1t is drawn from the roll, said rods being `mounted to be progressively lifted by said loop.

4. In mechanism for drawing a web of paper from a roll, a luralit of inclined ways having idler weig ts gui ed therein in position to engage a single loop of paper as it is drawn from the roll.

In testimony whereof we have ailixed our signatures.

HENRi: A. sEviGNn. FRANK K. ARNOLD. 

